Feeding mechanism for slicing machines



Dec. 19, 1933- w. A. VAN BERKEL FEEDING- MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINESFiled Nov. 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4a 2030 kg /7 Dec. 19, 1933.

W. A. VAN BERKEL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 10,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 19 1933 FEEDING MECHANISM FORSLICING MACHINES Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel, Clarens, Switzerland,assignor to U. S. Slicing Machine Company, La Porte, Ind., a corporationof Indiana Application November 10, 1930, Serial No. 494,682, and inGreat Britain November 20,

6 Claims. (Cl. 146-103) This invention relates to slicing machines andparticularly to that type of machine used for slicing substances such asbread, cake and the like.

5. In such machines as commonly used the substance to be sliced isclamped on a table which is 'fed with a step by step movement toward thecutting plane of the knife. In such slicing machines, the range offeeding movement is comparatively short and the substance is clamped ona feed plate which is actuated by suitable feeding mechanism. When thefeed plate has reached its limit of movement toward the cutting plane ofthe knife, it is necessary to withdraw the feed plate to its originalposition and re-clamp the substance thereon so that the remainder of thesubstance may be sliced. This procedure has to be resorted to veryfrequently especially when thick slices are being cut, thereby renderingthe entire feeding arrangement very unsatisfactory.

The present invention hasfor its object the provision of an improvedfeeding arrangement which will obviate the difliculties which I havementioned in the previous paragraph.

using one or more feed members which are adapted to be rotated in directcontact with the substance about an axis or axes disposed in orapproximately in the direction of feed, the arrangement being such thatwhen the said feed member or members are rotated, the substance will beadvanced with a step by step movement toward the cutting plane of theknife. The feed members are presumably formed with helical threadsthereon which threads are adapted to engage the substance and impressthemselves therein. v

Another object of this invention is to do away with the feed tablethereby simplifying the construction of the slicing machine.

Another object of this invention is to enable one to cut slices fromsuccessive substances without interrupting the feeding movement of themachine and without any loss of time.

Another object of this invention is to so arrange the helical membersthat the same tend to move the substance against fixed abutments.

Other objects of thisinvention will appear hereinafter as thedescription thereof proceeds, the novel arrangements and combinationsbeing set forth in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings 7 Fig. 1 represents an elevational view of a slic- 155ing machine embodying my invention, parts of More specifically myinvention contemplates.

the framework being broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a setion taken substantially along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1with a portion of the vertical abutment plate broken away to show thefeedmg mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified arrangement of my deviceshown applied to a reciprocating carriage; and

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 represents a frame having theupstanding supporting members 2 connected at their tops by means of thebridge piece 3, the latter being adapted. to support a rotatable shaft 4and a swinging arm 5 which is rotatable on the shaft 4. The shaft 4 isdriven by means of a motor 6 and a gear on the end of the motor shaftwhich meshes with the internal gear 7. r 78 1 A sprocket 8 is secured tothe shaft 4. The outer end of the arm 5 carries a shaft 9 whichis'rotatable in the bearing 10 and this shaft in turn has securedthereto a sprocket 11. A chain 12 is trained over the sprockets 8 and 11so that, when the shaft 4 is rotated by means of the motor 6, the chainwill impart movement to the shaft 9 by means of its operative connectionwith the gears 8 and 11. A handle 13 is used by the operator to swingthe arm 5 about the shaft 4, it being understood however, thatmechanical means may also be provided for this purpose if desired.

The frame of the machine is provided with an opening 14, and a plate 15has one end thereof resting on the lower edge of the opening 14 and theother resting on the cross member 16 which is supported by the sides ofthe frame 1. Any other suitable means may be used for supporting theplate 15. An abutment plate 1'7 is arranged vertically along one side ofthe opening 14 and the substance to be sliced is held against the plate1.5, and. the vertical abutment plate, the abutment plate being soarranged that when the knife is cutting through the substance there is atendency for the knife to force the substance against the abutmentplate. 7

Rotatably mounted in bearings formed in the cars 18 and 19 and in theframe 1, are a pair of feed screws 20 and 21 having square screw threadsthereon. There are two screw threads on each of the feed screws 20 and21 although it is within the scope of this invention to use either asingle thread or any number of threads which may be desired; also theshape of thellO in Fig. 1.

threads may be varied to suit the requirements 7 of the substance beingsliced.

The feed screws 20 and 21 are provided with the sprockets 22 and 23respectively. Three other sprockets 24, 25 and 26 are mounted on theframe and a chain 28 is trained over the sprockets 24, 22, 25, 23 and 26in the manner best illustrated This ties up the screws 20 and 21in sucha manner that the same rotate in unison whenever one of the screws isactuated. In order to provide means for adjusting the tension in thechain 27, I mount the shaft upon which sprocket 25 is mounted within aslot 23 in the frame, a screw 29 being used to clamp the shaft for thegear 25 in adjusted position within said slot. 7

The abutment plate 17 is provided with an opening 30 and the supportingplate 15 is provided with an opening 31. The screws 20 and 21 V arearranged with their axes substantially parallel with the longitudinaldimensions of the slots 30 and 31 and have portions of their helicalsurfaces protruding above the surfaces of the plates 17 and 15respectively. vA ratchet 32 is secured to the shaft 33 to which thescrew 20 is secured and an arm 34 is pivoted to the shaft 33 and isoscillatable thereabout. A pawl 35 is pivoted to the arm 34 and engagesthe ratchet 32, a spring 36 being used to rotate the pawl intoengagement with the ratchet 32. With this arrangement, it will be seenthat when the arm 34 rotates in one direction, the shaft 33 andconsequently the screw 20, will be rotated in the direction shown by thearrow in Fig. 1. In order to oscillate the arm 34 I provide a link 37pivoted to one arm 38 of a bell-crank pivoted at 39 to the frame, theother arm 40 of the bell-crank being pivotally connected by a link 51 tothe arm 5 at 41. Consequently when the arm 5 is oscillated, the arm 34,through its operative connection with the arm 5, will be oscillatedabout the shaft 33 and cause the screw 20 to be intermittently rotated.As the knife moves toward the substance to be sliced, the pawl ridesover the teeth of the ratchet vwheel 32 so that no feeding movement willoccur during the slicing operation. However, when the slicing knife ismoved toward the full line position shown in Fig. 1, the bell-crank isrocked in a direction to cause a clockwise movement of the arm 34 and apositive feed of the screw 20 by thereof, I provide a lost motionconnection between the link 51 and the arm 40. This comprises a slot 42in the end of the link 51, and a pin 43 on the arm 40 is adapted totravel in the slot 42. A spring 44 normally tends to rotate thebell-crank in a counter-clockwise direction, its movement in thisdirection being limited by means of a pin 45. After the slicing knifehas cut a slice from the substance, the same is moved in acounter-clockwise direction about the shaft 4, and the first movementwhich is imparted to the link 51 will not actuate the bell-crank due tothe pin and slot connection between the link 51 and the arm 40, but acontinued movement of the link 51 brings the end of the slot 42 againstthe screw 20 is actuated, the screw 21 will also be actuated but in theopposite direction.

When the knife reciprocates, the screws 20 and 21 are given a step bystep movement, and the screw threads being of opposite types, will tendto impart lateral thrusts in different directions. The screw threads on21 cause the substance to be thrown against the abutment plate,

and the screw threads on 20 tend to throw the substance toward thesupporting plate 15. In addition both screws feed the substance in adirection toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2 or toward the cuttingplane of the knife. The substance being sliced is pressed intoengagement with the screw threads and the rotation of the screws causesthe feeding movement. The necessity of re-clamping the substance istherefore done away with and substances of practically any length may befed toward the cutting plane of the knife without any re-clamping.Furthermore successive pieces of substances may be sliced merely byfeeding the same thereto as rapidly as the slices are cutfrom thesubstance on the support. I

In order to hold the substance toward the screws 20 and 21, I provide anarm 46 pivoted at 47 to the frame and carrying a roller 48 at its outerend. This roller is provided with grooves or serrations which have atendency to bite into the substance being clamped. A spring 49 securedtothe frame at50 and to the arm at 51 is adapted to hold the arm 46downwardly against the substance 52 indicated by dotted lines in Fig.1.As the substance is advanced, the roller 48 rolls over the edge of thesubstance and atthe same time exerts a yielding pressure on thesubstance towards the feed screws. It will be obvious that any number ofpresser arms 46 may be used with my device, the same being spacedlongitudinally with respect to the supporting plate 15 so as to engagethe substance at difierent places thereon in the direction of thefeeding movement.

The spring 49 may be arranged as in Fig. 1 so that when the arm 46 ismoved upwardly to an inoperative position, the spring 49 will be thrownto the other side of the pivot 47 and thereby tend to rotate the arm 46in a counter-clockwise direction instead of a clockwise direction.Movement of the arm 46 in a counter-clockwise direction is limited bymeans of the stop 53.

The arm 34 may be oscillated in any other manner such as by engaging anabutment on the swinging arm which carries the knife, or by having aprojection thereon operating within a In Figs. 3 and 4 I haveillustratedhow my invention may be applied to a slicing machine in which the tablereciprocates instead of the knife. In this form of the invention theslicing machine is provided with a base 71 and the knife 72 is carriedby a shaft '73 journaled within a suitable casing 74 mounted on-the sideof the base 71. A shaft 75 extends horizontally through the base '71 andcasing '74 and carries a sprocket '76. A second sprocket '77 is securedto the shaft 73 and a chain '78 is trained over the sprockets '76 and 77so that when the shaft 75 is rotated,

the knife will be rotated.

The base also carries a pair of parallel guide rods 79 and 80 upon whichthe tabler8l reciproare rotated and reciprocated respectively in unisonwith each other.

The table 81 is provided with an upright support 87. The table 81carries a supporting plate 88 and the abutment plate 89 is carried bythe upright support 87. Reference numerals in Figs.

3 and 4 which are the same as in Figs. 1 and 2 refer to parts which aresimilar to the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and which bear the samereference numerals. The operation of the device is substantially thesame as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that the screw 21 isrotatably mounted on the shaft 54 and has a ratchet 55 secured theretoat one end thereof (see particularly Fig. 4). An arm 56 is secured tothe shaft 54 and has a roller 57 on the outer end thereof. A spring 58is secured to the arm 56 and to the table 81 and tends to draw the arm56 against the fixed stop 59 so as to limit the counter-clockwisemovement of this arm. A second arm 60 is secured to the shaft 54 beneaththe plate 88 as best illustrated in Fig. 4 and this arm carries the pawl61 adapted to engage the ratchet 55.

A stop 62 having a rack 63 integral therewith is operated by means of agear on the shaft which carries the operating knob 64. This operatingknob is adapted to be rotated to position the stop 62 at variouspositions relative to the support 65 upon which it is mounted.

As the carriage moves in a direction away from the knife and approachesthe end of its movement in that direction, the roller 5'7 on the end ofthe arm 56 engages the stop 62 thereby causing a clockwise movement tothe shaft 54, and consequently the screw 21, by means of the pawl andratchet connection 6155 between the arm and the screw. The screw 20 'isrotated by means of the chain 27 which is operatively connected to thescrew 20 and the screw 21 in the same manner as in Figs. 1 and 2' and asindicated by dotted lines in these figures.

It will therefore be seen that my invention is equally applicabletoslicing machines in which the slice is cut bya moving knife or in whichthe carriage is movable past the knife. The amount of feeding movementimparted to the feed screw may be regulated by adjusting the stop 62. Itis also to be understood that the feeding movement of the feed screws inFigs. 1 and 2 may also be regulated by providing the shaft 33 with a camfor raising the pawl during a portion of the rotative movement of thearm 34 thereby varying the amount which the ratchet is rotated by meansof the pawl.

It is to be understood, of course, that various modifications in thedetails of construction may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention. For example, operative connection may be provided betweenthe working parts of the machine and the roller 48 so that the latterwill be rotated with a step by step movement along with the screws 20and 21. Such an arrangement will assist materially in insuring a regularfeed of the substance toward the cutting plane of the knife.

Furthermore I may employ more than one roller such as the roller 48 aspreviously explained. It

is unnecessary in some cases to provide two feed screws'and therefore Iwish to have it understood that my invention contemplates using one feedscrew wherever circumstances will permit or changing the shape of thehelical substance engaging parts of the rotatable substance engagingmembers 20 and 21 such as by varying the sharpness thereof to suit therequirements of difierent substances. 7

Other modifications of my invention will ap pear to those skilled in theart to which this invention pertains, and therefore I do not wish.

to limit my invention except as set forth in the appended claims,

Having now particularly described two embodiments of my invention, whatI desire to secure by Leters Patent of the United States is: l

r 1. A slicing machinecomprising a support for engaging the substancealong substantially its entire path of movement, an abutment plate rigidtherewith and at an angle thereto, a feed screw directly engaging theside of the substance adjacent said support, a second feed screw forengaging the side of the said substance adjacent said abutment, andmeans for rotating said feed screws so as to feed the substance alongsaid support in a predetermined direction, each of said feed screwsbeing threaded in a direction to impart a thrust to the substance in adirection toward the vertex of the angle formed by said abutment andsaid support respectively.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the feed screws have theiraxes substantially parallel to the direction of movement of thesubstance and in which the abutment and support are each provided withopenings through which a portion of each of the threads on said feedscrews protrudes.

3. In a slicing machine, the combination with a stationary supportfor'engaging the substance along substantially its entire path ofmovement and having a vertical wall at one side thereof, openings insaid support and wall, helical mem bers extending partially through saidopenings with their axes substantially parallel to said support and wallrespectively, a knife adapted to move past said support to cut slicesfrom a substance mounted thereon, a second support for guiding saidknife during its movement past said first support, and operativeconnections between said second support and said helical members forrotating said helical members as said knife moves past said firstsupport, said helical members having their helical portions extending ina direction to advance the substance toward the cutting plane of saidknife and being rotatable in a direction to move the substance engagingportions thereof toward the vertex of the angle formed by said supportand wall.

4. In a slicing machine, the combination with a rotatable knife, of asubstantially horizontal substance support for engaging the substancealong substantially its entire path of movement and movable past saidknife, an abutment extending upwardly substantially vertically from saidsupport, said support and abutment having openings therein, said screwsextending partially through said openings and having their axes at asubstantial angle to the cutting plane of said knife, means for rotatingsaid feed screws in a direction to advance the substance in the samedirection when one of said feed screws is actuated, and meansoperatively connected to one of said feed screws for intermittentlyactuating the same as said carriage moves past said knife, said feedscrews having opposite types of screw threads thereon adapted to advancethe substance toward the cutting plane of the knife and having theirsubstance engaging portions movable during the advance of the substancetoward the cutting plane of said knife in a 'direction'toward' thevertex of the angle formed by said wall and said support. r a 5. In asubstance support and feeding means for slicing machines, thecombination with an- 7 of the knife, and a presser roll opposed to saidhelical feed screws for yieldingly pressing the substance to be slicedagainst said feed screws and plates so that the substance is advancedalong said plates when the helical feed screws are rotated whilesupported by said plates.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 in which the roller is carried by apivoted arm and in which there is a spring operatively connected to saidarm for urging said arm and roller yieldingly against the substanceafter being manually moved into close proximity with the substance or tohold said arm and roller in an inoperative position remote from thesubstance if and when said arm is manually moved'to said remote positionby manual pressure applied to said arm.

WILI-IELMUS' ADRIANUS VAN BERKEL.

